Demonstration planned Monday to urge boycott over tar sands issue

NORTHAMPTON — Area people concerned about climate change will hold a rally Monday to launch a boycott of TD Bank over its support for a controversial energy proposal.

The rally is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. at TD Bank, 175 Main St., Northampton.

Demonstrators will ask the local TD Bank manager to write a letter to the company chief executive officer , urging him and the board of directors to divest its holdings and loans to TransCanada, the Canadian energy giant that is developing the tar sands oil fields in Alberta.

The group will also call on President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to reject the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Texas. Their decision is expected later this year.

According to rally organizers, 10 Nobel Peace Prize recipients recently signed a letter urging President Obama to reject the pipeline as a key step in taking bolder action to stop climate change.

More than 62,000 people across the country have signed a “Pledge of Resistance” to engage in nonviolent action and civil disobedience to protest if the pipeline is approved, according to rally organizers.